Questions about the Faller road system etc.

[End2end]

I was wondering what width of road do you need to run cars in both directions using the Faller road system or something similar in 00?
Are there alternatives to the Faller system with a more British look to the vehicles?
If using the Faller system, how far apart do the running wires need to be so a vehicle won't jump from one wire to the other (wrong direction)?
Can I stop a vehicle for a period of time (bus stop outside the station for example)?
What is the tool called needed to cut the slot for the wire?
Are there any issues with the radius of a turn like with locos?
Are there any third parties that make extra vehicles?

I think thats it so far.
I have this crazy idea to run vehicles on a road round the whole layout.
Thanks
End2end

[Roger (RJ)]

"What is the tool called needed to cut the slot for the wire?"

Damned expensive.


http://www.gaugemaster.com/item_details ... e=FA161669

[Roger (RJ)]

http://www.gaugemaster.com/item_details ... e=FA161669

[End2end]

Thanks Roger.
I think the technical term is..... KIN ELL!
I wonder if theres an alternative because Gaugemaster is damned expensive on all thier items.
I visit the shop quite often but rarely buy anything. It does help to see things "in the flesh" as it were though.
Thanks
End2end

[Roger (RJ)]

Their are slightly cheaper suppliers. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Faller-161669/dp/B000LRRQNG

[Suzie]

Hi End...

The road just has to be wide enough for the vehicles you are using. It needs to be flat from wheel to wheel, and you will need wider clearances on bends of course.

The Ford Transit is as British as it gets, but you can put other bodies on a Faller chassis from your favourite vehicle supplier.

The magnet should not jump to the wrong direction. I would make sure that the wires are at least 15mm apart to be on the safe side.

Faller do make a 'bus stop' electromagnet that will stop a vehicle when 12V is applied.

If you cannot afford the Faller slot tool a Dremel or similar can be employed, or if you have a router...

The Transit will happily go round a Harburn mini-roundabout which I think is about 50mm radius. The tighter the radius the more careful you need to be that all is flat!

Suzie x

[End2end]

Thanks for the replies members.

The Ford Transit is as British as it gets, but you can put other bodies on a Faller chassis from your favourite vehicle supplier.

Has anyone tried this?

Faller do make a 'bus stop' electromagnet that will stop a vehicle when 12V is applied.

If you cannot afford the Faller slot tool a Dremel or similar can be employed, or if you have a router...

Sadly I don't have a router, but how would you go about it with a dremel? I do have one but I've only used it to drill holes.

The Transit will happily go round a Harburn mini-roundabout which I think is about 50mm radius. The tighter the radius the more careful you need to be that all is flat!

That's quite tight so hopefully that gives me some scope to perhaps run round the built up areas instead of straight through using 90 degree bends.

Is there a maximum incline perchentage advise with the faller system for going uphills?

Are there any alternatives to the faller system on the market?
As I understand it (I may be wrong), is that the system uses iron wire inlaid into the road to make a track for the magnets on the vehicles to follow.
So could I get the iron wire from anywhere, if, as my be the case, no one else produces the actual vehicles but the wire can be bought more cheaply than in the system or even to extend what comes with the system?
Or does the faller version have some special coating to perhaps stop corrosion and thats why it's expensive?

I'm trying to gauge wether it's worth considering having moving vehicles on the layout in the future as I need to plan for the space I'd need as I'm building but my layout is more set before transit vans.
I already have all the vehicles I want (except for a traction engine with TRURO painted on the side) but haven't the foggeist how to convert them.
Thanks
End2end

[Mountain]

You could lay guide wire and build a road on top of it from card or something similar. I used to have a bus. I bought the set with the Faller road, and I extended it with extra sections. The road itself is expensive! Best make your own.

[Suzie]

You use the Dremel cutting disc to make a slot. The faller wire is just plain steel wire with a bit of spring to it so it bends smoothly (probably piano wire) that needs to be protected with paint or varnish to stop it corroding. The wire needs to be level with the top of the road surface - it won't work if it is too deep.

I think that the Faller vehicles are made by Herpa so it might be worth looking at the Herpa range, but I don't think it will be hard to fit any lightweight plastic bodied vehicle to a Faller chassis.

[SRman]

If it is of any help, the Faller Mercedes 0405 bus (sometimes found in their starter sets) has a wheelbase that matches many 30' British bus types. The tracks are a little narrow for 4mm scale, although the rear wheel can be eased outwards slightly, but the front ones have to remain where they are without major re-engineering.

I fitted a Concept Models plastic London Transport RF bus body to one Faller Mercedes chassis, and an EFE 30' BET standard bus body to another. The metal body is a little heavier, so can affect the battery life, particularly if there are gradients on your layout. The steering is able to take quite heavy vehicles; one modeller here in Australia used an American HO white metal trolley bus with the Faller steering mechanism, and this coped entirely satisfactorily with all that weight. The trolley bus used a 12V motor and drive, and picked up from the overhead wires, allowing it to be controlled like a model railway item ... just think of the possibilities with DCC and a host of extra features.

[dan8400]

Hi,

I managed to get a job-lot of Faller stuff which included 5 or 6 rolls of guide wire, so havent looked at alternatives.

My roads (from memory) are about 100mm wide in total (two way traffic). The magnets follow the guide wire very well and do not deviate easily. For example, you can cross the wires over (with a very slight gap) to make junctions or, as i did, create a roundabout.

I didnt use the specail tool or a dremel. I superglued guide wire directly to the baseboard then used the woodland scenics road system over the top. This consists of the paving tape and runny filler to make the roadway. This covers the wire well enough to make a good road, but, not too thick that it affects the magnets.

I made 'points' from seep point motors with the centre pin punched out. I then bent a 90 degree end on the guide wire and fed it into the point motor. (This can then be set up to go two ways from one road. Just like railway points) This is then covered with thin plasticard and painted. About a thousand times cheaper than the Faller 'points' . To make stopping areas; all you need is a magnet. The vehicles have a built in reed switch to kill power. I used cheap servos with some strong magnets glued to the end of the servos horn. So the magnet is under the roadway/parking space when active and swings under the board or to the side so the reed switch is de-activated (again, way cheaper than the faller items).

As mentioned above, vehicles are from Herpa but i think they also use Wiking. I made the decision to have only HO scale vehicles on the whole layout so that the handful of moving vehicles didnt look out of place.

Just as a side note, my vehicles are some of the earlier versions. I do not have any of the digital vehicles. They are analogue. They are seriously fun to watch when you get them going.

A short video during construction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyFYBX7EO8Y

Hope some of this helps / makes sense.

Thanks
Dan

[dan8400]

Just to throw something else into the mix...

Faller make a chassis kit. You assemble it but then you can set the wheelbase and cut the chassis rail to suit. Looks like a good system and at least half of the price of a completed vehicle.

You could convert almost anything

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Faller-16370 ... :rk:2:pf:0

The Faller road system road sections are very expensive and are for continental roads. So all the pre-cut holes for the magnets and bus stops etc are on the wrong side of the road for us in the UK

Thanks
Dan

[End2end]

Great stuff dan8400.
Thanks for all the replies members.
I managed to get down to Gaugemaster today and physically looked at the Faller system and the prices.
I think I am going to give the idea a thumbs down as it's just too expensive.
I'd rather spend that kind of money on other stuff.
Also all my vehicles I have are metal rather than plastic bodies.
Thanks
End2end

[End2end]

Gaugemaster have bought out thier own version. The starter set is cheaper then the faller one in the Gaugemaster store.
http://www.gaugemaster.com/item_details.asp?code=GM330
Thanks
End2end

[dan8400]

I think that is the Faller item in a gaugemaster box.

They even elude to it in the text.

Price seems about the same as other Faller sets I've seen. Around the £110 mark.

Not trying to knock your discovery, I just don't think there is any kind of budget version of the Faller car system. They would probably sue if there was...

Thanks
Dan